Hollywood’s Best Car Chases, As Rated by a Top Stunt Driver

There's a highly scientific explanation for why so many films feature car chases: Car chases are awesome. And there are so many good ones that to safely navigate a timeline of the best, we handed the wheel to an actual stunt driver—Darrin Prescott, who orchestrated the car-fu in The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Drive.

Above:

Bullitt
(1968)

Steve McQueen's 1968 Mustang Fastback flies over the hills of San Francisco on the trail of two hit men. Prescott's take: "Those guys really were going really fast. Today we shoot it so it looks fast. But back then it was hammer down and go."

The French Connection (1971)

Gene Hackman races an elevated train through the packed streets of Brooklyn. Prescott's take: "It was the first car chase where it felt like the character was actually doing it. It plays well because it was shot from inside the car. Locations are everything."

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

Hooper (1978)

Burt Reynolds' Trans-Am just makes it under a collapsing smokestack. Prescott's take: "I talked to a stuntman who was on the set and he was like, 'We just timed it.'"

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

Turns out, you can drive against traffic on an LA freeway. Prescott's take: "Every director I talk to wants me to do Bullitt or Ronin, but when I show them this they're blown away. It's the best car chase ever done."

Ronin (1998)

High-speed pursuit through Paris. Prescott's take: "They hired professional Le Mans drivers and just let those guys clip it through the towns and haul ass."

Death Proof (2007)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Aston Martin DBS FTW! Prescott's take: "Start piling up $200,000 cars and production gets upset. But in order to make a good chase, you're going to break a few eggs."

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Aston Martin DBS FTW! Prescott's take: "Start piling up $200,000 cars and production gets upset. But in order to make a good chase, you're going to break a few eggs."

Drive (2011)

Director Nicholas Winding Refn waits until the post-heist-gone-wrong sequence to unleash the best chase in recent memory. Prescott's take: "Refn wanted a crash no one had ever seen before. Usually that requires testing and rehearsal, but we didn't have a ton of money. It was one-and-done."

Drive (2011)

Director Nicholas Winding Refn waits until the post-heist-gone-wrong sequence to unleash the best chase in recent memory. Prescott's take: "Refn wanted a crash no one had ever seen before. Usually that requires testing and rehearsal, but we didn't have a ton of money. It was one-and-done."